Captain Apache – Kino Lorber (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: UK/Spain, 1971
Director: Alexander Singer
Writers: Milton Sperling, Philip Yordan
Cast: Lee Van Cleef, Carroll Baker, Stuart Whitman, Percy Herbert, Elisa Montés

Release Date: October 6th, 2015
Approximate running time: 94 Minutes 6 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: N/A
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: OOP

"Spaghetti Western legend, Lee Van Cleef (Bad Man s River, Sabata) stars in this western as Captain Apache, a Native American US Army officer on a secret mission. Van Cleef investigates the murder of an Indian Agent whose dying words April Morning is the only clue to who killed him. As he gets closer to solving the case, he uncovers an elaborate plot to assassinate the President.” – Synopsis provided by the Distributor

Video: 3.75/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Newly remastered in HD!"

Captain Apache comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 18.2 GB

Feature: 17.5 GB

The source used for this transfer is in very good condition and when compared to previous home video releases, this transfer is the best this film has looked to date on home video.

Audio: 3.75/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English. The audio is clean, clear, and balanced throughout.

Extras:

Extras for this release are limited to trailers for Barquero and Sabata.

Summary:

Captain Apache is given the task of discovering what a dying Indian Commissioner’s last word, “April Morning,” means. It also appears that there are other people who want to keep the meaning behind “April Morning” under wraps. And every time Captain Apache locates someone who knows something about “April Morning,” they end up dead before they spill the beans.

During the spaghetti western heyday of the 1960’s and 1970’s, Lee Van Cleef (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) was one of the most in-demand actors working in this sub-genre. And though Captain Apache is actually a Euro-Western, there are many elements in Captain Apache that are widely associated with the spaghetti Western sub-genre.

On the surface, Captain Apache is a difficult film to take seriously. With so much of the content having a tongue-in-cheek vibe to it, nowhere is this clearer than when it comes to the casting of Lee Van Cleef in the role of an Indian.

Without a doubt, Captain Apache’s main draw is Lee Van Cleef in the role of the protagonist. He delivers a delirious performance that, in lesser hands, could have been a disaster. And though he was often typecast throughout his career, the majority of his performances stood out because of his charisma.

Other notable cast members include Elisa Montés (99 Women) in the role of Rosita (Shadows in an Empty Room) in the role of a gun runner named Griffin, and Carroll Baker (The Sweet Body of Deborah) in the role of a salon girl named Maude.

From a production standpoint, the visuals are best described as serviceable. The most memorable moment visually is a scene where Captain Apache hallucinates after being drugged. Besides the delirious dialog, another area where Captain Apache delivers humor is the theme song, which Lee Van Cleef sings. Ultimately, despite Captain Apache not being a good film, it is still a highly entertaining film, so bad it's a good kind of way.

Captain Apache gets a strong audio/video presentation from Kino Lorber.

Written by Michael Den Boer